Colonia Quercia

Acqua Di Parma Men Colonia Quercia opens with a moderate projection of citrus, floral, spicy and woody accords. The petitgrain is the most noticeable opening note, it comes as sharp, and green; the bergamot is by its, sharp citrusy, the cardamon and cedarwood mix their notes producing a smooth fresh, vibrant woody-spicy and very aromatic scent, unique and characteristic of this fragrance. The geranium adds a floral touch but it is not as prominent as the combination of cardamon and cedarwood, also, the pink pepper is a soft touch. As the fragrance commences to dry down, the oakmoss becomes noticeable supporting the woody notes; the patchouli is just a pinch and adds a faint green touch; finally, the tonka bean adds its enveloping aroma and sweetens all notes. The most noticeable opening to dry-down changes are, the sharp citrus accords and the greenness of the petitgrain is noticeable during the opening, however, towards the dry-down, it partially fades away and softens; the bergamot is short-lived and confined to the opening; the tonka is more prominent towards the dry-down and smooths the fragrance with a soft powdery-like accord. Once Acqua Di Parma Men Colonia Quercia has reached its full dry-down, it can be summarized as a moderate projection, sweet, cardamon, and cedarwood fragrance with some green, citrus and floral accords. The fragrance feels aromatic, elegant, exotic, high-quality, masculine, mature, modern, nicely-blended, playful, slightly powdery (especially once the tonka has fully set in), rare, rich, sweet, unique, versatile, warm, woody, and very pleasant. BATCH REVIEWED: 2019 (#2478Y)) WOW RATING: 9/10. Colonia Quercia is a very pleasant woody-spicy fragrance. DISLIKE RATING: 1/10. The factor is very low, the woody and spicy accords are well blended. UNIQUENESS: 10/10. Although wood tones are common, Colonia Quercia combines them fantastically creating a very unique and distinguishable fragrance. MASS APPEAL: 7/10. This is a sweet woody and spicy fragrance that will please most people. PROJECTION: 3/10. Moderate to low, about 3 feet around the wearer. SILLAGE: 4/10. Moderate to low, about 4 feet behind the wearer. APPLICATION: 4 atomizations will suffice. LONGEVITY: 4/10. About 4 hours with 2 of moderate projection. SEASONS: Fall, spring, winter, colder days, and climate-controlled environments. OCCASIONS: Formal events, outdoor gatherings, office, business, casual, holidays, romantic, dating, clubbing. This is an office-friendly fragrance. VERSATILITY: 8/10. Very good, this is a versatile fragrance. GENDER: Masculine. The wood and spicy tones incline this fragrance to the masculine side. AGES: 30 and above. RECOMMENDATION: Highly unique, very good mass appeal and versatile. This fragrance can be found discounted for about $75. As such it is a great buy. BLIND-BUY: No. The woody and spicy combination is unique. SIMILAR: These are examples of similar fragrances. Bvlgari Man (no the Black version) EDT includes softwood and fruity notes; Cuba Gold Men EDT is an affordable woody, floral and spicy fragrance; Guerlain L'Homme Ideal EDP By Guerlain includes softwoods, almond, and other notes; Hugo Boss - Boss The Scent Absolute EDP features woody, ginger, and rum notes; Terre D'hermes EDT Spray, is orange and grapefruit based but it contains soft/sweet wood tones as well; Prada Luna Rossa Black Men EDP is a mostly peppery and woody fragrance; Tom Ford Oud Wood is a very pleasant, soft woody fragrance, however, very pricy; Acqua di Parma Men Colonia Quercia is a great woody, and spicy fragrance; Pasha de Cartier Edition Noire is an elegant and versatile, slightly sweet, ambery, aquatic, and woody fragrance; Mr. Burberry EDP is a spicy and woody fragrance, pleasant but very weak. SUMMARY: A moderate projection, sweet, cardamon, and cedarwood fragrance with some green, citrus and floral accords. The fragrance feels aromatic, elegant, exotic, high-quality, masculine, mature, modern, nicely-blended, playful, slightly powdery (especially once the tonka as fully set in), rare, rich, sweet, unique, versatile, warm, woody, and very pleasant.

Quality: 5 out of 5 – It’s a rare masterpiece – LOVE! It reminds me of the wow-factor when I initially smelt Terre d'Hermes Parfum or Xeryus Rouge. Originality: 4 out of 5 – It’s very original but has some lovely notes in it which then ironically reminds me of some of my favourite fragrances! Projection (Sillage): 3.5 out of 5 – moderate-to-heavy; people in your vicinity can smell your scent. Versatility: 4 out of 5 – This scent is very versatile; it works well for either day or night, all seasons, ‘dressed-up’ occasions, for men around 25+. Value: 2.5 out of 5 – This is a huge splurge for me at £135 for 100ml but I cannot stop smelling my hand! To treat myself on a birthday or anniversary, I’d pay this for the unique factor! But, if you’re going to spend money like this, you might as well go into John Lewis and get the whole ‘experience’ being told the notes and getting a lovely branded bag with a ribbon!  Compliment Frequency: 3 out of 5 – Unsolicited compliments on the scent were not received. However, I asked two people I know what they thought (I was over-excited by this scent) and both loved it! Packaging (Bottling): 4 out of 5 – Much thought seems to have gone into the packaging; it’s attractive and highly functional. Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 – Amazing – This fragrance is not only flaw free, but is a true masterpiece. It surpassed my expectations and should be on a collectors list. Recommendations: Try before you buy as it’s not cheap but I love it.

I've found my summer scent! Quercia opens with a delicious burst of citrus, cardamom and geranium, smoothed over by a sweet vanillic tonka bean. The oakmoss gives a brittle, sparkly quality in the beginning which, overlaid with the sweet, hesperidic top notes, calls to mind vanilla ice-cream floating in a glass of lemonade. As the top notes retreat, the cedar and oakmoss push to the fore and it becomes less citric-sweet and more starchy-powdery, but still with a hint of that soft, balmy citrus in the background. It stays like this at close range for several hours, and I'm enticed to sniff my wrist once in a while to find the lovely cardamom and bergamot still hiding behind the thin veil of earthy moss. People have compared it to "Russian Leather" by Memo -and I can see why, they both have a similar powdery, brackish quality- but Quercia is a good deal lighter and more delicate, making it more appropriate for warm weather. The price point is the only negative to me. At €175 for 100ml, it is massively over-priced compared to other Colonia scents, which typically retail at €108. Obviously it's marketed as part of an 'exclusive' range, but the ingredients, while nicely blended, don't strike me as that costly to produce. Perhaps the quality of the oakmoss extract used is particularly high? Anyway, I'm on the hunt for a bottle, at a fairer price, if anyone wants to sell.

Cards on the table, right off the bat for Quercia....This is a really, really good fragrance. Not only does it adhere to tried and tested ideas but it has some suprising extra depth and quality to elevate it that bit further. Opens with a signature AdP freshness, petitgrain/citrus/verbena but immediately let’s you know that this is a woody fragrance, with earthy tones and plenty of oakmoss, lending a wonderful masculinity. So far so straight forward but the quality of the woody base really does keep giving throughout, those lime top notes lasting well into the drydown and at the heart of this fragrance there’s cardamom and geranium, all giving a kind of Italian vibe. The most surprising thing for me is the very deep drydown after many hours...there’s the soft vanilla notes which I’m assuming is from Tonka Bean. Faceted, brilliant, strong and long lasting but not invasive...I’m pretty sold on this superb Chypre type fragrance, Bravo Acqua Di Parma.

This elegant fragrance blends citrus with light florals and traces of wood and spices to elicit a remarkably fresh take on gentlemen’s colognes. It’s for those who are bored with the standard spring, summer, fall fare, who want a fragrance with more body and complexity while still retaining a light and airy effervescence. It’s a blast of fresh air that uplifts and energizes, a scent that in the last eight months has quickly become one of my top spring/summer/fall picks. It’s not intrusive, it doesn’t demand attention, it’s not a beast, it just exudes suave sophistication and modernity—a prefect office or everywhere daytime scent. On the negative, longevity is not what I would optimally prefer. I overspray in two spots on my neck and apply lightly to my shirt to get 5-7 hour projection. Still, I like it so much I bought a 180ml backup bottle.